Dead Reckoning
Episode #32 - Dead Reckoning
Original Airdate - February 18th, 2006
The ghost of a circus performer convinces Superman, Batman and Wonder
Woman to help him retrieve the stolen souls of a mystic order of Monks.
Review by Stu
Media by Bird Boy |
Credits:
Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Directed by Dan Riba
Music by Lolita Ritmanis
Animation by D.R. Movie Co., LTD.
Voices:
Kevin Conroy as Batman
Susan Eisenberg as Wonder Woman
George Newbern as Superman, Bizarro
Raphael Sbarge as Deadman
Powers Boothe as Grodd
Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor
Juliet Landau as Tala
Michael Beach as Devil Ray
David Ogden Stiers as Solovar
Sab Shimono as Monk |
Review
Another new episode of JLU brings us a character we’ve yet to see
animated before now in Deadman. It’s great to see a lot of these obscure
characters getting introduced into the show, and I’m glad the creative
team seems to be doing a great job updating them for animation. Deadman
himself proved to be a little out there even for a show with a cast as
big as this.
I think it was an intelligent move having Batman already be aware of
Brand’s existence, as it saved a lot of time explaining his origin and
allowed us to get on with the main story. Whilst I’m sure some will
complain that Deadman didn’t appear enough in the episode, I think he
served his role perfectly. While I don’t claim to be a big fan of the
character, he was pretty cool. I was especially impressed with his
design, particularly how well the red and black contrasted each other,
and the excellent lighting effects that have been mostly hit and miss
since Superman: The Animated Series ended all those years ago.
I’ll admit the voice didn’t really fit the character too much, but
nevertheless, it was a fine performance. The real fun began when Deadman
entered other people’s bodies and everyone adapted to his style of
speaking. Kudos to George Newburn, he really worked hard in this one,
not only providing his typically excellent Superman, but SuperDeadman
and Bizarro too! Newburn doesn’t nearly get the credit he deserves,
because when he has something to work with, he is an outstanding Man of
Tomorrow.
Speaking of Bizarro, I wasn’t too impressed with his appearance here.
He’s not at all like his Superman: The Animated Series
counterpart, and since Bizarro am Stu’s favorite Superman villain, I was
disappointed with his portrayal. It’s been explained that Bizarro was
‘amped up’ by Luthor into doing the exact opposite of whatever he says,
but the chip used to do this is barely noticeable, and no explanation
was offered as to why this was happening. His perfect model from
Superman is yet another victim of digital coloring castrating a classic
design and his cape is now pink for some reason. Pink. Like a girl.
Whilst he wasn’t featured in the episode that much, and he did take part
in some kick ass fight scenes, it was sad to see such a great villain
play such a mediocre role what will probably be his final appearance.
Onto better things now, starting with the direction. Dan Riba has never
really been a favorite of mine, going right the way back to his Batman:
The Animated Series work. It’s not terrible by any means, but I’ve
always thought of it as ‘normal’. I know this is hardly a compliment to
a guy who’s been entertaining us all for 14+ years, but to me, he never
stood out as great or terrible. This episode however, completely and
utterly destroys any and all of his previous work. In short gentle
reader, this episode looks stunning. Whilst a lot of it can be
contributed to some of the finest animation to ever grave our beloved
League, one can’t deny the sheer brilliance of the staging as the big 3
kick the crap out of the Legion of Doom. This is without a doubt one of
the best looking episodes of JLU ever, combined with a story as
brilliant as this and numerous twists and turns, we’re looking at one of
the best ever entries into the DCU.
The ending of the episode featured not one, but two big shockers! Batman
with a gun was something I didn’t see coming in the slightest. While
there wasn’t enough time to see him deal with the blood on his hands so
to speak, it’s there for the next few episodes. Hopefully it will be
addressed, this is one storyline where fading to black won’t cut it. We
have the potential for a character defining Batman episode here, and I
hope it won’t be squandered.
The other big shocker is Grodd’s plan, and Luthor’s ascension to the
leader of the Legion of Doom. I believe I’m not alone when I sniggered
at Grodd’s master plan of turning everyone into apes but at least it
went somewhere with Luthor now in charge. I do wonder what exactly the
point of the first four episodes of the season were now that Grodd is
apparently out of the picture, but one shouldn’t worry about the past
when the future appears to be looking brighter than ever. If this truly
is JLU’s final season, then I simply can’t wait to see it all unfold. If
the previous two episodes are anything to go by, we’re well on the way
to greatness this season. Let’s hope the Legion don’t screw it up! |
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